I bought a 7 speed auto second hand c200 petrol estate recently too. Yes, agree a classy looking thing, especially inside. But the gearbox tends to hunt a bit and the engine refinement and character is just poor. It will accelerate fast, but the noise is awful. Again on smooth roads its great, but not many of those around anymore! Ive had in the past the BMW F31 320d - noisy but great chasis and gearbox, and the A4 avant v6 3.0d too, which was miles better than all the rest. Refined, great ride, very quick.
As a big Volvo fan and owned the S90, I know more about it than the Merc. Both have comfortable seats but the S90 is bigger inside. If you get the right spec I think the Volvo edges it.
